The girl who fought for her life with a shark

One afternoon in June 2022, Addison Bethea was snorkeling for scallops off the coast of Florida when she felt a tug on her right leg.

The 17-year-old girl thought it was a prank by her brother Rhett. This shallow water is like "territory" of the two brothers, born and raised in Florida, a southeastern state of the United States.

A year later, Bethea, now 18, revisited the area where she had her horrific memories. That afternoon, she said, she quickly realized her brother wasn’t playing a prank. A large shark had bitten Bethea’s right calf. All she could do was scream for Rhett. The animal continued to bite her thigh, dragging Bethea under the water.

It all happened in a split second, leaving Rhett confused as his sister disappeared. After the loud thump of the shark's tail, he was horrified to see blood in the water. According to Rhett, the animal was at least three meters long, possibly a bull shark or a tiger shark, both of which are among the few species dangerous to humans and are common in Florida.

Even though the knife-sharp teeth were embedded in her thigh, Bethea felt no pain but shock, as if she were in slow motion or in a dream. “It was like trying to scream but not making a sound,” she said.

Addison Bethea, 18, stands on the shore of St George's Beach, Florida, a year after the attack. Photo: Guardian — Addison Bethea, 18, stands on the shore of St George's Beach, Florida, a year after the attack. Photo: *Guardian*

Rhett swam to grab his sister, whose leg was still stuck in the shark's jaws. That's when Bethea started fighting back. She remembered tips she learned from Discovery 's Shark Week as a child, which included punching the nose when a shark attacked.

Bethea reached into the fish's gills, poked at its eyes, and tried to pry open its mouth. "Its skin was like sandpaper. Its eyeballs were the size of baseballs, and very slimy. It was so big I probably couldn't wrap my arms around it," she said.

The noise attracts attention from nearby Keaton Beach, where a man in a speedboat comes to help. The shark releases Bethea, and Rhett brings her into the boat, attempting to stop the bleeding.

The horror was familiar to Rhett, a firefighter. But when he boarded the boat, he was shocked by his sister's condition. Her legs were mangled.

Bethea was delirious as the boat hurtled toward shore at high speed. Rhett contacted emergency services, requesting that a rescue helicopter be sent to the scene. The girl became agitated, shifting her position and demanding cold water.

"I must have swore at my brother. I was shocked, I've never acted like that before. I don't remember anything," Bethea said. "When the shark attacked me, I prayed. When I got on the boat, I prayed for everything to go away quickly."

The boat pulled up to the Keaton Beach Emergency Station. Bethea was loaded into an ambulance. Five minutes later, a rescue helicopter arrived.

The crew was surprised to see that she was still able to speak. “I know this is a cliché question, but are you in pain?” one asked. Bethea blacked out, only able to reply “yes.” That was all she remembered.

After a 15-minute flight, the helicopter landed at Tallahasse Hospital. The surgeon had enough time to stabilize the blood flow and patella. The wound was very serious. She lost a lot of blood by the time the surgery was performed.

Bethea woke up feeling “the worst she’d ever felt” and found her mother sitting next to her. After a week in the hospital, three days in intensive care and several more surgeries, Bethea’s leg was amputated above the knee.

Bethea and her brother in hospital last year. Photo: Guardian — Bethea and her brother in hospital last year. Photo: *Guardian*

Bethea was fitted with a prosthetic leg and began physical therapy. At every stage, she exceeded doctors’ expectations. She also received letters of encouragement from all over. Friends and lovers visited her daily. Her family was always there to keep her spirits up.

"Every visitor made a difference. My dad would say every day, 'Today is going to be a good day.' Without that love, I don't know how I would get through it," Bethea said.

Determined to "regain an active lifestyle," Bethea completed the therapy program in just a month and a half, which takes about five months for a normal patient after an amputation.

Bethea returned to school and quickly found confidence in her new leg. She has since regained her walking speed and is even back to the gym. She graduated from high school in May.

For her, swimming, sailing and surfing have become an important part of her life and "I can't give up". "I'm not going to shy away from the things I love to do," Bethea said as she returned to the waters where she was attacked.

In the future, she wants to study physical therapy at university. "I will be a good help to patients. They will also listen to my advice because I have overcome the same challenge," she said.

Duc Trung (According to Guardian )

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